This happens to even seasoned competitive swimmers who know better than to do this. Focusing upon your competitors means that your mind is not concentrating on your OWN swim - and so all your mental power is in the wrong lane! 

When this happens it means that your mind is focusing upon an 'uncontrollable' (which means something you have no control over, whatsoever) and this type of thinking never brings you the results you are seeking.

The bad news is that you can never exert any real control over another swimmer's race - but the good news is that this also means that your competitors can never exert any control over YOUR race either.

So it makes sense to totally take your focus OFF your competitors, completely. Instead put all your mental and physical power into your own swim and your own lane - because anything else is sheer madness. It's much better to let your competitors do all the worrying - about YOU and - let THEM be the ones who are putting all their mental power into the wrong lane. So the first lesson today is - focus upon your own swim, only. If your time is good, then the result takes care of itself, right?

OK, so far I have done half my job today, which is to let you know about the number one recurring problem in swimming - but the other half of my goal today is to stop it ever happening again,  because this is what happens to even the greatest of swimmers. So now that you know about this mental trap (and I'm sure you already somehow knew this already), you must make this thought so ingrained and automatic that it will never trap you again.

The main way to do this is through your daily training, until it becomes habit. Practice mentally being 'the only swimmer in the pool', each and every time you swim. Forget that the other swimmers even exist, and don't allow your consciousness to leave your own lane, not even for a moment. Do this until you find you never feel overly-pressured by other swimmers anymore  - and this means you may never need reminding anymore.

However, remind yourself with diary notes and constant reminders before and during each meet that your lane if the only one you are going to think about, and that anything else is an uncontrollable. Begin reminding yourself of this one week before the meet begins, right up until the last race of the meet, making a point of this until it becomes your automatic way of thinking. 

If you are the only swimmer on the block who knows the biggest mental mistake, then this will put you at a distinct advantage!  

To se desava cak i iskusnim, dugogodisnjim plivacima takmicarima koji to bolje znaju nego sto ga primenjuju. Pridavanje paznje tvojim takmicarima znaci da tvoja razmisljanja nisu usredsredjena na tvoje  VLASTITO plivanje - tako da se tvoja duhovna snaga nalazi u pogresnoj stazi! 

Kada se to dogadja to znaci da je tvoja paznja "van kontrole" (sto znaci da nad necim ti nemas kontrolu) i ova vrsta razmisljanja ti nikad ne donosi rezultate kojima stremis. 

Ono sto je lose je da ti nikad ne mozes da se posvetis pracenju trke nekog drugog plivaca, a dobro je to da se ni trkama tvojih takmicara ne udubljujes kao svojoj.

Dakle, to dovodi do osecaja da u potpunosti skines paznju sa tvojih takmicara. Umesto toga skoncentrisi svu mentalnu i fizicku snagu na tvoje vlastito plivanje i na svoju stazu - zato sto je bilo sta drugo ocigledna ludost. Mnogo je bolje dozvoliti tvojim takmicarima da pokazu da brinu o TEBI i tvojoj trci - dozvoli im da oni budu ti koji ce svoju mentalnu snagu staviti u pogresnu stazu. Dakle, prva lekcija danas je - skoncentrisi se samo na svoje plivanje. Ako je tvoje vreme dobro, rezultat ce sam po sebi doci, zar ne?

OK, skoro sam uradio pola posla danas, sto je imalo za cilj da spoznas problem br. 1, koji se ponavlja u plivanju - ali druga polovina moga nastojanja danas je da sprecim da se on ikada vise ponovi, zato sto se to dogadja cak i najvecim plivacima. Dakle sad kad znas za ovu psiholosku zamku, ti moras da ucinis da ovo razmisljanje bude ukorenjeno i automatizovano, tako da te nikad vise ne baci u klopku.

Najbolji nacin da ovo ostvaris je kroz tvoj svakodnevni trening, dok to ne postane navika. Duhovna vezba je "jedini plivac u bazenu", samo i uvek kad ti plivas. Zaboravi da plivaci cak i postoje i ne dozvoli da tvoje misli odlutaju iz tvoje staze, cak ni za trenutak. Radi to dok ne shvatis da vise nemas osecaj presije nekog drugog plivaca, a to znaci da nemas vise potrebu da se podsecas na to.

Medjutim, podsecaj sebe, dnevnim zabeleskama ili stalnim podsetnikom pre i za vreme svakog takmicenja ako je tvoja staza jedina briga ti mozes razmisljati o njoj i da bilo sta drugo je izvan domasaja tvoga interesovanja. Pocni da se podsecas na to jednu nedelju pre nego sto takmicenje pocinje, do poslednje trke na tom takmicenju, dajuci znacaj tome sve dok to ne postane potpuno automatizovan nacin razmisljanja.

Ako si ti jedini plivac na bloku koji zna najvecu duhovnu gresku, to ce ti omoguciti jasan napredak.

Craig Townsend, (Dip. Clin. Hyp.) is a Clinical  Hypnotherapist and Director of It's Mind Over Matter in Sydney, Australia. 

He has worked with National and State level swimmers for over a decade, teaching them the various methods of    improvement through mental training and creating a powerful  program which has spawned impressive results in swimmers of all levels.